


Decision To Run

by MeredithBrody



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M, Family Issues, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:36:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/pseuds/MeredithBrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erika finds out second hand that Jon is considering running for President, and isn't happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decision To Run

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sokorra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sokorra/gifts).



> So, like so many of my oneshots, this one came about because of Sokorra. This time in a kind of roundabout way. She got me watching The West Wing a few days ago (and I'm hooked) and the relationship between Jed and Abbey reminds me so much of Jon and Erika. Which is sort of how this was inspired.

It always seemed that the evenings he managed to spend at home were peaceful, and he could never quite put his finger on why. Serena and Henry were working on their homework at the table, and he was reading over the latest bill he was going to have to vote on in the next few days. It wasn't a common thing, him bringing his work home with him. Recently he had wanted to be home with his family more, which he hadn't had the chance to do much the last few years. Somehow they still put with him. Or at least he thought they did. 

All three in the kitchen jumped as the front door slammed, and the sound of his wife storming along the hall, kicking shoes out of the way as she did, reached the room at the end. Jon narrowed his eyes in the direction of their children as Henry smiled to his father. "Mom's home."

Before Jon could say anything, Erika burst through the door and shot him a withering look before she spoke at all, in the menacing way she had when she was really pissed off at him. "What in the name of all that is holy do you think you are doing?"

"And that's our cue to leave, come on Henry, I'll help you in the study." Serena said, slamming her book shut and all but pushing her brother out of the door. He had to admit, his 18 year old had the ability to know when her parents just needed to talk alone. He watched the kids leave then turned back to his wife and held his hands up in her direction.

"Calm down Erika." 

"I'm not going to calm down. At what point in time were you going to tell me that you were running for president." She all but spat at him, and he immediately felt a little more uneasy. He was surprised it had taken her this long to hear the rumours. He hadn't made an announcement yet, but the feelers that his team at the councillors office had already put out were no doubt intensifying the rumours that he was running this time. He had no good reason why he hadn't told her, but he'd try to deflect until she wore herself out. It had served him often enough in their 40 years of knowing one another. 

"When you got back from the conference." He muttered. Remembering the communications conference she'd been at for the last few weeks on Betazed. Interesting place for a communications conference, but that was a matter for later discussion. He was certain that excuse wouldn't hold, but it stopped her for a second.

"I got back from the conference three nights ago, and I had to find out you were running from a secretary in Admiral Gardner's office."

"I didn't know how to say it considering I hadn't even told you I was thinking about it." That was the truth. He hadn't been thinking about it until two weeks earlier, well into Erika's time on Betazed, and by the time she'd gotten home he had made up his mind.

"You're _right_ , you didn't. Any reason why not, considering I've had to run every minor career change by you since we got married yet this is the second time you've made a decision that has completely changed _both_ our lives without even so much as consulting me." She argued, and he shook his head. 

"That's unfair, and it wasn't planned that way." He hadn't made her run her decisions by him, and the only career choice she'd made was returning back to Starfleet instead of teaching after Serena had been born. He kept his eyes on her as she opened her mouth a few times, when no sound came out he took a chance. "If you'd let me explain it I could tell you."

"Fine then, go." She muttered, her hands on her hips, but her body language telling him she was already a little fed up of arguing with him. The average length of every argument seemed to shorten every year, Erika's patience for them shortening. 

"Luke came to me, there has been a lot of talk that while the seat of the Federation is on Earth, there is little advantage to the people of Earth since the first president." He made that point, and he was certain he'd remember that, it had only been 20 years earlier, and they had both been rather heavily involved, Erika more in the Starfleet side of the debate, Jon more the political side, though he had been involved in both.

"Samuels." She nodded after a second, still shooting him an annoyed stare, but without the open hostility she'd come into the house with. 

"Exactly. Earth wants a human president, overwhelmingly. While I'm certain that it's not going to be an easy sell to them for it to be me, there is nobody better suited, and I won my last council seat with more than 55% of the vote. Luke proposed I run, and he made sense." That was definitely all true, and he had only just returned to Earth, yet he had still won with a majority. Maybe he was depending too much on his war credentials, but whatever worked, and he was a good politician. 

"You could have held him off a week, Jon. To talk to me, to talk to the kids." Erika sighed, and now he could tell the fight was out of her, and that had led to her blurting out the truth about what she was annoyed about.

"Are you actually against me doing this, or are you pissed that I didn't speak to you about it first."

"Definitely the second one." She smiled a little, then trailed off into thought, speaking a second later. "Did you consider what my position would do to your chances Jonathan. I seem to recall a lot of opposition to you being married to a Starfleet admiral two years ago when you ran for the council, I'm not resigning for you to do this."

"I can sell it, I'm sure. Erika I don't want this decision to define what we are now. I know that you will support me, you always have in the past. You moved to Andoria for me." He smiled at that, and it was often the decision he'd hold up in moments like that. Not only had she put her career on hold, she had moved their very young family more than 20 light years away. 

"That was at least partly a selfish decision." She sighed and he realised he'd won this fight. He wasn't necessarily happy that he'd needed to, he probably should have waited. She came round the table and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head as she continued speaking. "The kids were so young, and I was about to smush Henry's face because I was getting frustrated doing it on my own." She grumbled, and he saw an option to end this discussion and hopefully make it so she wasn't entirely pissed at him any more.

"He's still in the house you know." He commented, motioning over his shoulder toward the front of the house and the study he was certain they were studying in, or trying to kill each other in. He never liked to lay bets when his children were left alone.

"It was 11 years ago, he survived." She shrugged, and he saw a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He took that as a sign she was calm and kissed her gently. Smiling as she returned it.

"Are you sure you're behind this?" He asked a second later, just needing to get that little piece of confirmation for his own benefit.

"Hey, who knows. I might even vote for you." She said, then smiled her first smile since she'd gotten home. 

"I wouldn't expect you to be biased." He teased, grinning at her and repositioning his arms around her to hold her a little tighter. 

"You'll stand up for Starfleet officers being able to vote via proxy, right? Because I may have to fight you on that if you don't."

"I'm going to ensure that is a protected law before this election campaign even gets going. I love you." He smiled, kissing the tip of her nose. 

"So you should." She replied, her usual disrespect making him laugh. He leant down and kissed her again. Suddenly this fight seemed far less daunting now that he had the first battle under his belt. He just had to find a way to sell the idea of a Federation President being married to a Starfleet Admiral to the public of more than 20 separate planets. He had a decent team, and he was sure they could do it. Now he had to move on to the next battle, explaining his intentions to his kids.


End file.
